


Stop Caring

by puppypopcornpizza



Series: Liam and Margot [2]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Ballet, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Love Confessions, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 22:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10954236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppypopcornpizza/pseuds/puppypopcornpizza





	Stop Caring

Liam grumbled to himself as he left the med bay. Lexi was worrying too much, at least he didn’t fracture a bone this time. That was progress! The woman fretted too much.

Then again, it was her job.

He made his way to the galley, stopping in his tracks when he heard music coming from the pathfinder quarters. Classical, the type he remembered hearing in shows in high school.

Maybe Margy just really liked the music? She did tell him she enjoyed classical–

_“Fucking plie, fucking dancing.”_

Was the woman dancing? Was Margot Ryder, the woman who bragged she was in a gang as a teenager, doing _ballet?_

Another curse from the other side of the door answered his question, _she was._

He needed to see this, even if it meant her dangling him in the air like a ragdoll with her biotics. _Again_. He quickly tapped a command into his omni-tool and waited as the door opened.

Now this was a sight. Margot stood with her back to him, using the railing as a bar, her footing was very unsure – like she hadn’t done ballet in a while.

Now Liam was never one to… ogle. The right woman had never come along. Sure, there were some pretty ones, but none that caught his eye, that made his heart stutter and palms sweaty.

Well… not until he met Margot, that is.

“I didn’t know you did ballet?” Liam leaned against the open door.

Margot gasped at suddenly hearing his voice and stumbled to the ground with a grunt, she huffed and blew a lock of hair that had fallen out of its place.

“Are you alright?” Liam walked up to her and asked with a small grin, it faded once he saw her expression.

“No, Kosta. I am not _alright_ ,” she huffed as she pulled the ballet slippers off her feet, throwing them in his general direction.

“That’s it, what’s the problem? These past few days you’ve been ignoring me and acting weird, what’s the deal?” he asked, catching one black slipper and dodging the other.

“Remember when you were telling me about how you needed something familiar the other day? That’s what I’m trying to find, familiarity. I did ballet as a kid. A few years as a teenager, between all the arrests and drinking – dad didn’t seem to give a shit what I did as a child and mom thought I’d enjoy it – I did, so they stuck me in classes from at the age of nine but then I abandoned it when I met this stupidly charming asari that convinced me to join her and her friends,” she let out a frustrated huff and ran a hand through her hair.

“Ballet is familiar, I obviously can’t do it anymore but it’s familiar. Makes me think of home,” she sighed, looking up at him. There was a sadness in her violet eyes. “I talked to Suvi yesterday about tea, how when her supply finishes it’s done. No more tea. It only hit me yesterday – _yesterday_ – that everything we knew in the Milky Way will eventually fade away, it won’t matter in the future.”

He frowned at her, she was right. If this crazy plan of theirs did work, future generations would know the Milky Way as somewhere distant, a place where their parents or grandparents came from, they would learn about the Milky Way as foreign, not home.

“I know it sounds like I regret coming here,” she continued. “I don’t, not one bit. I just get frustrated with how little things are so hard to come by.”

“Is this about Vetra trading the last of the chocolate yesterday?” the words left his lips before he could stop them.

“You’re lucky I don’t have any shoes left to throw at you,” Liam expected her to joke but she spat the words at him.

Mouth is being an idiot. Abort. ABORT.

“You’re frustrated, that’s normal. Throwing your shoes at me won’t help with that,” he dropped the slipper next to the other one.

“It actually really does help, with biotics especially,” she sighed.

“Alright, but why me specifically? I don’t see you chucking things at Jaal, or Gil, or Cora. I’m alright with you taking your anger out on me but it’d be nice to know _why_. And I can see that it’s more than just you being homesick.” his gaze softened as he walked towards her, holding out his hand to help her up. “What’s the problem, Margy?”

She eyed his hand for a moment before pushing it away and letting out another frustrated sigh. “You are!” her voice was raised slightly, “I can’t think straight around you, avoiding you doesn’t help because I can’t get you out of my head,” she ran a hand down her face and continued.

“Your stupid smile when I crack a horrible joke, the old vids, how you’re always _so damn positive_ about us succeeding. It’s like y-you draw me to you, I want to stay away but I _can’t_ ,” her voice was lowered and she kept her gaze on his shoes. “But not having you around makes me feel like I’ll do stupid things – more than usual. I don’t know, it’s like you’re my anchor or something – as sappy as that sounds.”

Don’t grin, Kosta. The woman will punch you.

He held out his hand again and she lifted her gaze to it before lifting it higher to his face. There were still traces of hurt in her expression as she held onto his wrist and let him pull her up.

He pulled her up almost without any effort, and when she was on her feet she gently pulled her hand away from his. They stood inches apart, Liam itched to touch her but he didn’t want to risk her getting upset again.

“Why do you want to stay away?” he whispered, leaning his face just an inch towards hers.

She shook her head, “Liam, you deserve better. You don’t deserve some hot-headed leader wannabe who doesn’t know what she’s doing. I know I sound _so fucking_ cliche but you should be with someone who’s life is in order, not me.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re in _Andromeda_. Who has their life in order? I want to meet that person, get a few tips from them.”

“I’m serious,” she locked eyes with him. “Liam, you are an… _amazing_ person, I don’t want to hurt you by saying something stupid – _doing_ something stupid. I care about you too much, to think about you being upset…” she sighed. “I don’t want you to care and then right after, something bad happens to me. Pathfinders clearly don’t live happy, long lives.”

Liam didn’t know what to say. He wanted to hold her, hug her – there was also a part of him screaming to kiss her. He didn’t answer immediately, he only took her hands in his, running his fingers over her bandaged knuckles. He was relieved to feel that she tightened her grip on his hands.

“You need to stop seeing yourself as something that’s unimportant, you aren’t. You’re _so much_ more than that–”

“I’m reckless–”

“So am I–”

“I won’t last–”

“You _will_ ,” he released one of her hands and cupped her cheek, she leaned into his palm. “You _will_ make it,” he watched a tear escape her eye and wiped it away with his thumb.

“I want to believe you, but I can’t,”

“Margy–”

“No, you and I won’t make it, _I_ won’t make it. Please… just let me believe we won’t happen, it hurts to think about an ‘ _us_ ’.”

He dropped his hand from her cheek and released her hand, tensing his jaw. Was this what a broken heart felt like? Like a hole where his heart was? Like it had just been ripped from his chest and _crushed_?

He swallowed.

“You’re a little late to tell me to not care,” he whispered before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, marching towards the cargo bay.

He only wished he hadn’t glanced at her hurt face before leaving.


End file.
